Words and pictures from the author of the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries

Monday, August 22, 2011

A Garden Capture

I was in the garden when I saw a puzzling somethingzig-zag past, closely followed by a hummingbird. When the something landed, I saw that it was a dragonfly that had captured a butterfly . . . and was proceeding to eat it.

I have a fondness for dragonflies -- they eat mosquitoes, you know -- but I'd never, ever seen one nab a butterfly.

I see that you're interested in pictures of Britain! I thought you might like my blog, www.PictureBritain.com. It's a journey in pictures from the Shetland Islands to Land's End, along with videos, recipes, and interesting tidbits of life in Great Britain!

Wow!! Wasn't that a thrill? Capturing that moment, as an observer? You don't want to see anything get eaten, but to capture such a moment with your camera must have been very exciting. One of my coworkers came upon a praying mantis battling a yellow jacket over some prey, tried to capture it on his cell phone...not quite the same. But rather amazing, nonetheless. These photos DO remind me of National Geographic, as one of the commenters said.

I'm so reminded of Annie Dillard's book "Pilgrim At Tinker Creek" with this post. I remember a line in one of her chapters that went something like this: "Birds gotta fly. Fish gotta swim. Insects, it seems, gotta do one horrible thing after another."

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All images and content are subject to copyright and are the sole property of Vicki Lane Mysteries. If you would like to use something from my blog on your blog or website, please email me and ask first. I'll probably say yes.

Who Am I? What Am I Doing Here?

I'm the author of The Elizabeth Goodweather Full Circle Farm Appalachian Mysteries from Bantam Dell. The series includes SIGNS IN THE BLOOD (LA MONTAGNE DES SECRETS in France), ART'S BLOOD, (LE SECRET DES APPALACHES in France,) OLD WOUNDS,IN A DARK SEASON (Anthony Nominee, Best PBO), and UNDER THE SKIN. There's also THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS (a spinoff/standalone)chronicling the unexpected life story of Miss Birdie, one of Elizabeth's neighbors.
Currently I have just completed a historical novel, dealing with a massacre in my county during the Civil War.
I came to this weird business late (my first novel was published in 2005) and am still trying to figure it out.
As my novels are set in a place much like my real life home, I thought I'd use this blog to share pictures of our farm and county. I've been blogging for nearly nine years now, on an almost daily basis, and the topics have ranged from writing, chickens, food, books, quilts, flora and fauna of all sorts, to the occasional tiny rant. There's no plan, but there are lots of pictures.
There's more information about me and my books on my web site: http://vickilanemysteries.com/